In Luoyang, Wang Shichong's Prince Zheng's Mansion has now been transformed into the Sui Army's Military Council.
In the main hall, Meng Gong, who was wearing a bright general's robe and armor, was sitting behind the commander's desk. He looked at the generals in the hall with a serious expression and said, "Generals, I think everyone already knows this. Li Shimin led his elite cavalry to attack Hulao Pass. Block Xue Shuai's army outside the gate. But now that Hongnong has been lost, there is no more danger in front of Dongdu, so in the next period of time, we must independently face the 100,000 troops of the puppet Tang Dynasty."
"So what about a hundred thousand troops? In my opinion, they are just a bunch of rabble!"
Before Meng Gong finished speaking, Yang Zaixing came forward proudly and said: "Since the old thief Li Yuan established the Puppet Tang Dynasty, he has continuously used troops against us in the Sui Dynasty in these years, but he has never won a single victory. Even his son and son-in-law have They have all been our prisoners before. Even if a hundred thousand more come to such a defeated enemy, I will not be afraid at all!"
After hearing Yang Zaixing's arrogant words, Meng Gong couldn't help but frowned slightly, and said with a serious face: "Although the Puppet Tang Dynasty has been defeated repeatedly in the face of our Sui Dynasty's heavenly soldiers in recent years, in fact, no matter whether it is Fortunately, Li Jiancheng, or Li Yuanji and Chai Shao, they are just side troops. In fact, we have never had a head-on confrontation with the main force of the Puppet Tang Dynasty, so we must not underestimate the enemy in this battle!"
Wang Xiaojie, Zhang Zhenzhou, Wei Lu and other former members of Wang Shichong who had had contact with Li Shimin's main force all nodded in agreement and said, "What General Meng said is absolutely true. The puppet Tang army led by Li Shimin has been fighting in the south and north for many years, and its combat power is by no means comparable! "
"Why do these generals have the ambition of others to destroy their own prestige?"
At this moment, a lukewarm voice suddenly sounded from the corner: "The puppet Tang army relied on nothing more than Li Shimin's machinations and the unparalleled brute force of that fool Li Xuanba. Now both of them are fighting against each other." Laoguan. The leading generals Qu Tutong and Li Jilong, although one has great military exploits and is famous, is now over sixty years old and is just an old man. Although the other has followed Li Shimin in the north and south for many years, he has never I have heard of any outstanding achievements, and the reason why he was ordered to lead the army was simply because of his background. Why should the Tang army be afraid of such a person?"
Hearing this voice, Meng Gong frowned even more. The person speaking was none other than Wang Shichong's nephew Wang Renze. Originally, Wang Renze was trapped in Hongnong City by the Tang army, and everyone thought he would not survive. But he never expected that this man would survive the encirclement of a hundred thousand Tang troops.
There were more than 20,000 soldiers and horses of the Wang Army recruited in Luoyang City. In addition, Wang Renze broke through from the bloody battle of Hongnong. He undoubtedly became a hero in the eyes of ordinary soldiers. In addition, Wang Ren was extremely cunning and had just arrived. Luoyang publicly declared that it would draw a clear line with Wang Xuanying, who was trying to conspire against him.
Although Meng Gong had received Xue Rengui's orders before going on the expedition, he knew that Wang Renze, like his uncle, was an ambitious man. However, there was a precedent of Wang Xiaojie before Wang Renze. If Wang Renze was dealt with this time, it would definitely attract a lot of rumors.
Although Wang Renze was spared for the time being, Meng Gong was extremely wary of Wang Renze in his heart. When I heard Wang Renze speak, I immediately felt that this person must have no good intentions.
However, Yang Zaixing, who was eager to fight, was not as vigilant as Meng Gong. He thought Wang Renze was speaking to him, glanced at Wang Renze with some admiration, and said loudly: "General Meng, what General Wang said does make some sense." I am not talented, I am willing to lead my elite troops out of the city to fight, and give them a decisive blow when the Tang army comes out and has not yet established a stable foothold!"
After Lin Renzhao, who was standing next to Yang Zaixing, heard Yang Zaixing's bold words, he shook his head to dissuade Yang Zaixing and said: "General Yang, now we hold the fortified city of Luoyang. As long as we cannot hold on, the Tang army will be defeated over time. The soldiers under the general's command will Although the horses are the elite of the army, the puppet Tang army is also fierce. If the general is a little careless, it will not be the spirit of the entire army here."
When Yang Zaixing heard this, he laughed wildly and said: "In my eyes, the Tang bandits are just a bunch of idiots, how can they hurt me? If I can't hold on according to your words, wouldn't it have dampened the spirit of the entire army! Now Yue Pengju and Li Yaoshi are two The army of Lu is overwhelming in Bashu, how can we fall behind them?"
Wang Renze curled his lips slightly, stood up and said with a laugh: "I have long heard that General Yang Zaixing is a brave man, and today I saw that he is truly worthy of his reputation. Renze is not talented, and I am willing to go with General Yang!"
As soon as Wang Renze finished speaking, Gao Siji, who was dressed in white robes and bright armor, also came out to invite the battle: "General Meng, the last general is also willing to go out of the city with General Yang to fight against the Tang bandits!"
Although Gao Siji followed Meng Gong to Luoyang, since Yang Zaixing also arrived in Luoyang, Gao Siji had competed with Yang Zaixing several times, and his marksmanship became proficient under Yang Zaixing's strong guidance. He was grateful to Yang Zaixing from then on. Follow the lead!
"We are also willing to go out of the city with General Yang to meet the enemy!"
After Gao Siji, more than a dozen people came out to ask for battle. Except for Shan Xiongxin, all of them were generals from the Sui Army headquarters. In the past few years, the Sui army had won consecutive battles on the battlefield, which had long made them complacent and arrogant.
Seeing so many generals coming out to ask for battle, Meng Gong was immediately furious and wanted to scold them. Unexpectedly, Zeng Guopan, who was sitting silently in his seat, suddenly coughed and said lightly: "General Meng, now the generals are very motivated to fight. If the general refuses, wouldn't it mean that he has chilled the hearts of the generals? In my opinion, Come on, just let a few generals go out of the city to fight!"
Meng Gong was shocked when he heard this. Since entering Luoyang City, Zeng Guopan has made great contributions whether it was dealing with Wang Xuanying or stabilizing the situation in Luoyang afterwards. Meng Gong never expected that the far-sighted Zeng Guopan would actually speak out to support Yang Zaixing and others. He immediately looked sideways and saw Zeng Guopan secretly winking at him, indicating that he would immediately agree to Yang Zaixing and others' request to fight. .
Although he didn't know what Zeng Guopan had in mind, Meng Gong nodded out of trust in him: "In that case, let's ask General Yang Zaixing to lead the generals out of the city to fight the Tang army."
"I will obey your orders!"
Yang Zaixing, Gao Siji, Wang Renze, Shan Xiongxin and others were all overjoyed when they heard this. They clasped their fists and accepted the order, and immediately went out to order troops and prepare to set off.
After Yang Zaixing and others walked away, Meng Gong looked at Zeng Guopan with some displeasure and said: "Master Zeng, you are also a person who understands military affairs. You don't know that a arrogant soldier will be defeated. Why did you suggest it just now?" Will I agree to the request of Yang Zaixing and others to fight?"
Hearing this, Zeng Guopan slowly stood up, raised his hands to Meng Gong, and said in a deep voice: "General Meng, please forgive me for the offence. Even if General Meng rejected their invitation to fight just now, would General Yang Zaixing really do that? Will you obey your orders?"
As soon as Zeng Guopan said these words, Meng Gong was stunned on the spot. After a long time, he slowly came back to his senses and murmured: "Yes, General Yang Zaixing has made great achievements in battle. Although this general is the general appointed by Xue Shuai personally, But I really don’t have the ability to suppress him!”
